Spring Football Preview sparingly for the Irish, while Clelland, a junior, switches to defense after competing for playing time on the offensive line in his first two seasons at Notre Dame.
Linebackers An area of great depth and talent for Notre Dame in 2010 is the linebacking corps. Four players with starting experience return in that group, and two of the top three returning tackle leaders from ’09 play linebacker. With the switch to a 3-4 defense, the Irish now make room for another member of that talented position group to take the field, with fierce competition expected at both outside and inside linebacker this spring. The most veteran returning player for 2010 in terms of career starts is Brian Smith. Now a senior, Smith started his Irish career as an outside linebacker in 2007 and he enters his final season back at his initial position. After playing inside linebacker in 2008 and 2009, Smith slides back to outside linebacker for spring drills. Smith (71 tackles, 5½ tackles for loss, 1 1/2 sacks, 2 interceptions) qualifies as Notre Dame’s leading returning tackler from ‘09. A potential option opposite Smith is junior Darius Fleming (29 tackles). Notre Dame’s leader with 12 tackles for loss last year (also 3 sacks and team-leading 7 quarterback hurries) has been at his best as an edge rusher and could thrive in Diaco’s attacking defense. Senior Kerry Neal (25 tackles, 3 1/2 TFL) is one of two players from his class (Ian Williams is the other) to have played in every game of his Notre Dame career. Neal has started 21 games and will challenge for a starting spot at outside linebacker this year. Junior Steve Filer (18 tackles) received his first playing time on special teams but soon became a talented edge rusher for the Irish in 2009. His quickness helped him lead the team in special teams tackles, and he adds tremendous depth to the position. Dan Fox has recovered from an injury last year and looks to get on the field for the first time as a sophomore in 2010.
At inside linebacker, the lone returning starter is speedy and aggressive sophomore Manti Te’o. Te’o started 10 games in his freshman season a year ago and recorded the third-most tackles ever by an Irish freshman. His 63 tackles in ’09 ranked fourth on the team and he added five and a half tackles for loss. A great competition to watch in the spring will be to see who emerges to line up next to Te’o at inside linebacker. Sophomore Carlo Calabrese, junior Anthony McDonald, senior Steve Paskorz and junior David Posluszny all enter spring practices in the mix. Classmates McDonald (10 tackles) and Posluszny (3 tackles) have had parallel careers in terms of playing experience. Neither played as a freshman in 2008. and both saw the field last year on special teams and as reserve linebackers. Calabrese entered with the reputation for being a big hitter and enters his first set of spring drills ready to climb the depth chart. Paskorz begins his senior year back where he started his Irish career, at linebacker. He opened on defense before moving to fullback in 2008, but the new coaching staff has shifted him back to defense.
Defensive Backs Notre Dame features an experienced group of cornerbacks and safeties ready to compete for starting opportunities. Fifth-year veteran Darrin Walls (27 tackles, 6 pass breakups, 1 int.), junior Robert Blanton (38 tackles, 2 ints.) and senior Gary Gray (28 tackles, 1 int.) all started at least seven games at cornerback last year, and Walls has started 21 combined games in his three previous seasons with the Irish. Those three expect to compete for the two starting cornerback positions, while sophomore E.J. Banks looks to get on the field for the first time in his second season and early enrollee freshmen Spencer Boyd and Lo Wood join the team this spring. McCarthy and Brown have to be replaced at safety and senior Harrison Smith will have one of the first opportunities to do so. Smith (69 tackles, 6 1/2 TFL, 4 pass breakups) started the first six games last year at
safety before moving down to outside linebacker and ranked third on the team in total tackles. Other players that figure to be in the mix at safety include junior Jamoris Slaughter, junior Dan McCarthy and sophomore Zeke Motta. Slaughter (14 tackles) appeared in every game last year and started one game at safety. He began the year as a cornerback but made the transition to safety midway through the season. Dan McCarthy is Kyle’s younger brother and was utilized primarily on special teams last season. Motta (12 tackles) was one of three freshmen to play in every game in 2010, playing both safety and outside linebacker in his first season. Freshman Chris Badger enrolled early and also will compete for time this spring.
Special Teams Preview Notre Dame was one of the only teams in the country last year to use freshmen in the punting, placekicking and long snapping roles – plus, the top kickoff returner also was in his first season. Thenfreshman Theo Riddick averaged 22.9 yards on 37 kickoff returns -- while the kickoff return unit averaged 21.7 yards per kickoff return, the best by an Irish squad since 2002. Golden Tate was the primary punt returner (14.2 yards on 12 returns, including a 87-yard return for a TD at Pittsburgh) in ’09, so he must be replaced. Junior John Goodman also returned five punts for 56 yards (11.2 average). Only eight of 45 punts were returned against the Irish last fall, a credit to the coverage teams last season, and 21 punts were fair caught. Thirteen Notre Dame punts landed inside the 20-yard line and only three touchbacks were recorded.
Punters Sophomore Ben Turk will look to maintain the form he displayed in the final two games last season when he averaged 45.5 yards on eight punts and had three punts of at least 50 yards in that span. Turk punted in six games during his rookie year and averaged 38.2 yards on 26 punts, while landing three inside the 20-yard line. He enters spring as the only punter on the Irish roster following the graduation loss of Eric Maust (19 punts for 35.8 average in ’09).
Kickers Two Notre Dame placekickers combined to convert 19 of 22 field-goal attempts last year, including 12 of 13 field goals longer than 30 yards. Sophomore Nick Tausch (14 of 17 FGs, 27 of 30 PATs) set the school record in ’09 by making 14 consecutive field goals and ranked second on the team with 69 points. After missing the first kick of his career, he made the next 14 before missing two against Navy. He missed the remainder of the season with an injury. Junior David Ruffer (5 of 5 FGs, 9 of 10 PATs) took over for Tausch and promptly converted all five of his field-goal attempts, including both from beyond 40 yards. The walk-on, who had never played organized football prior to arriving at Notre Dame, also served as kickoff specialist for half the season and averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks.
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2010 NOTRE DAME SPRING PROSPECTUS • UND.COM